


Sink or Swim

by romeoandjulietyouwish



Series: Twins Peter and Penny [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, inspired by 9-1-1, tsunami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23690245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romeoandjulietyouwish/pseuds/romeoandjulietyouwish
Summary: A tsunami hits New York.Prompt: “I won’t stop until I find ___.”
Relationships: Penny Parker & Peter Parker, Penny Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Twins Peter and Penny [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609225
Comments: 3
Kudos: 87





	Sink or Swim

**Author's Note:**

> If any of yall have been following me on tumblr for the last week or so, you’ll know that I just binge-watched all of 9-1-1. So this is inspired by the (spoilers) tsunami at the beginning of season three. Idk if there are tsunamis in New York and I don’t care really.

Peter can’t breathe, he doesn’t know which way is up or down anymore. All he knows is that he is surrounded by nothing but water. He thrashes his legs and frantically tries to swim somewhere, hopefully to the surface, but for all Peter knows he could be swimming deeper and deeper into the water. Something smacks his foot, his cry of pain is muffled by the water. 

Even when he tried to open his eyes, Peter can’t make heads or tails of where he is, the water is too cloudy. 

All of a sudden, his body is slammed into something hard, knocking any remaining air out of his lungs. Struggling to breathe, Peter quickly uses his stickiness to pull himself up the side of the object. The second his head breaches the surface, he is shoved right back under, only having a second to take a deep breath. But as much as the water tries to keep pulling him, Peter proves himself to be stronger, managing to pull himself on top of what seems to be a half-submerged semi-truck. 

He collapses onto his back for a second, letting himself take deep breathes of air. He can breathe.

“Penny...” He whispers to himself when he finds the breath. 

She had been with him when the wave hit and he had tried his best to hold on to her, but the strength of the water ripped them apart. She could be anywhere.

“Penny!” Peter shouts, pulling himself to his feet. That’s when he sees the city for the first time since being pulled underwater. 

The streets are flooded, covering cars and street signs, tons of debris flows down the narrow streets, it’s horrifying. The sky overhead is mockingly blue. 

“Penny!” He screams again. He hears people shouting and screaming from all over the city, sirens whooping, and car horns, but he doesn’t hear his sister. 

“Help!” Someone calls. Peter looks down to see a young man and woman clinging to a piece of wood floating quickly down the street, from what he can see the woman is bleeding from a cut of her head. They are waving to him, calling for his help. He has to do something. Peter leans over the edge of the truck and grabs the girl’s hand, using all of his strength to pull the couple towards the truck where they climb off of the piece of wood. 

“Thank you,” the man says, shaking Peter’s hand. 

“Have either of you seen a teenage girl, braids, green dress?” Peter asks forcefully. 

“I’m sorry,” the woman says, “I haven’t.”

Peter swears under his breath, “I need to find her.” 

“How are you going to do that?” The man asks, “in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no road,” the man gestures to the rapidly flowing water. “We should just wait here until help comes and then you can check the hospitals.” 

“Hospitals...” Peter breathes. Penny’s smart. She’d know where to go in case of an emergency, and she’d know where Peter would think to look for her. The hospital, specifically the one that May works at. 

“Where are you going?” The girl asks, grabbing his arm when he starts to move.

“I won’t stop until I find her,” Peter says and pulls out of her grasp. 

Backing up a few steps, Peter runs at full speed, leaping from the truck to the side of the building, catching himself easily with the tips of his fingers. The couple below him gasp as he starts scaling the rough bricks.

Peter climbs across the building and leaps to the next one and the one after that and that and that. He’s never had to be Spiderman without his webs or his suit, so it’s a little awkward at first, but he catches on easily. Below him, he can hear gasps and people shouting and calling for help, but as much as Peter wants to help them, he needs to know his sister is safe. 

But a small voice in his head keeps asking him what if she’s not? What if she’s not okay? What if she’s not at the hospital? What then? Peter doesn’t know the answer to those questions yet and he hopes he never has to find out the answers. 

His mind keeps bringing up awful images of his sister, knocked unconscious and drowning, pinned under the water, stabbed with a piece of debris, he sees Penny dead in dozens of ways. All his fault. He’s Spiderman, he should be able to protect his sister.

It takes him the better part of two hours to climb to the hospital. The water here is significantly lower, only a few inches deep. Peter’s already drenched so it doesn’t really matter. 

Outside the hospital, there are dozens of white tents set up. Floodlights cast a sharp white glow on the scene. People bustle everywhere, carrying others in their arms, calling for doctors, and rushing to the aid of victims. It’s awful. 

Peter runs, looking around wildly, he knows shouting here will just add to the noise and if Penny’s here he won’t find her. He runs through the aisles of tents looking in tent after tent, trying to find her. Peter knows he must look insane, but he is desperate. If he doesn’t find Penny here-

“Peter!” 

Peter whirls around at the sound of his name. Tony is running towards him, eyes heavy and worried. Thankfully Tony doesn’t look hurt, he must have been at the tower. Tony yanks him into a bone-crushing hug, despite the fact that he is soaking wet, “Are you okay? Where’s your sister?” Tony asks. 

Peter shakes his head, tears falling, “I-I don’t know. I tried to-to hold on to her but the water-” Peter covers his sob with his hand. “I-I lost her. I don’t know where she is-” 

Tony pulls him back into another hug, “We’re going to find her, kid.” Peter clings tightly to his mentor, sobbing into his suit coat. “It’s going to be okay.” Peter knows he can’t promise that. 

“Tony! Peter!” 

Both men look up to find Penny, dirty and bloody and wet, limping toward them, her right leg bleeding from the shin. Her green dress is torn across her stomach and her hair is all tangled.

“Penny!” Peter gasps. He breaks away from Tony and sprints towards his sister, immediately slamming her with a hug. Penny lets out a grunt of pain but doesn’t let Peter let go of her. The twins cling to each other desperately, crying into the other’s shoulder. 

“I didn’t know if I was going to find you,” Peter admits quietly. “Are you okay?” 

Penny shakes her head, pulling away. Her tears carved a path down the blood and dirt on her cheeks, “I think I need a doctor.” Peter nods and calls over his shoulder for a doctor, helping Penny sit down on a nearby bench. 

“I’m sorry, Penny,” Peter tells her, squeezing her hand. “I should have-”

“It’s not your fault,” Penny insists. 

“She’s right,” Tony agrees, he reaches out and touches Penny’s cheek who leans into the touch. “It’s not your fault, Pete.” 

At that moment, a doctor arrives with a stretcher for Penny. 

“Peter,” Penny reaches out for him when the doctors lift her up to the stretcher. “Don’t leave me.” 

Peter grabs her hand as Tony slings an arm around his shoulders, “I’m not going anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make my day :)
> 
> Tumblr- @romeoandjulietyouwish


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